Dr Encarni Montoya, The Open University
I am an ecologist (environmental biologist) interested in studying the vegetation dynamics of tropical forests. Given the magnitude of the tropics, I have focused my research efforts on different forests from Venezuela and more recently, Ecuador.
A single tropical tree can live more than 1000 years, so for studying the dynamics of the tropical forests in the time scale or range in which they live, I have to look for evidence of how these forests have interacted with the environment from the past until the present day. To do this I use the fossil record in what it is called palaeo-ecological approach. In other words, I’m interested in the ecology of the past.